The Little Match Girl
by KissStarryDreams
Summary: Nothing pissed Hermione off more than the exclusion of Muggle-borns. Nothing enraged Draco more than seeing Hermione pissed. And of course the Malfoys will hear about this. AU. Trigger warnings: VERY. DARK. BEGINNING. Very fluffy Dramione with sprinkles of angst. Full Summary inside. Read and Review please!
1. Chapter 1

_Inferno_

 **A/N : What if Hogwarts didn't accept muggle-borns? Hermione learns about the Wizarding world a bit harder than we would have hoped. Wizarding war #1 happened, but the HP timeline does not exist in this world. Posting this on here and as it's own story! Just wanted to continue the storybook feel of this.**

* * *

On a chilling New Year's Eve, shuffling along a deserted road, Hermione kept her head ducked and her hands cupped together, protecting the flame from the brutal winds that came only from England. She tried her hardest to get people to let her spend the night in this weather, but not many people were very understanding when it comes to an orphan knocking on their door for food and a place to sleep.

No one wanted to help her. Most importantly, they didn't want anything to do with her _gift_. Called her wicked, evil, a _witch._ The latter didn't bother her though; it only helped her create a story in her mind that got her through the days where her stomach clenched in hunger or she nights where she couldn't find warmth.

Pausing, she closed her eyes and bright fire danced behind her lids, attempting to spark a long forgotten memory. Shivering, she casted the thoughts out of her mind. _No. Don't think about it. Move on._ Glancing up, Her eyes widened in surprised when she spotted lights in the distance; Rubbing her eyes, she looked again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating from the hunger. No, it was a _mansion_ sitting on a hill.

Staggering her way up to the gates, she kept the flame close to her body, fighting away the chill of the winter season and the cold settling into her bare feet. _C'mon Hermione, you can do it. Hold on a bit longer. Hope that they'll let you stay._ She heard a voice whisper in her mind, as she panted with exertion using the energy she didn't have.

* * *

Sitting in the mansion on top of that steep hill, Narcissa Malfoy sat poised in front of the raging fire, sipping her wine and smiling indulgently as she watched her 7 year old son play with his toys that he received just that Yule. Her gaze flickered to her stoic husband as he pretended not to be interested in his Draco's yells of joy and laughter, his own eyes twinkling with mischief. She knew he was holding out a gift on him, a gift that she knew she didn't approve of, more importantly, a _broom_. But boys will be boys and she loved hers dearly so.

Setting down her wine glass gently, she tilted her head slightly and made eye contact with her husband, Lucius, above her son's head. Just as he stood up to cross over to her, their magical instincts tingled with the Malfoy blood wards letting them know someone had just crossed onto their property. Brandishing his wand immediately, Lucius approached the door to peek out, while his wife shuffled their son to a different room with a house elf for distraction, away from any danger. Coming back into the room, Narcissa exchanged a glance with her husband, silently conveying their thoughts to one another using their marriage bond. Shrugging on their winter robes, they opened the front door and crept out into the night with wands drawn.

* * *

Hearing howls in the distance, Hermione glanced around nervously, wondering if there was something lurking on the grounds… Urging her fire to grow brighter for a better light, she squinted in the distance, catching wisps of silver reflected by the moonlight. Stumbling forward she squinted in the distance again, trying her hardest to make out the figures before it was too late.

"Who are you? What do you want from us?" She heard in the distance, muffled by the strong wind. Speeding up, she attempted to reach the person when she heard the voice call out again in fright, "Stop! Don't move or else!" and so she waited in the cold, her little flame keeping her warm; albeit barely.

* * *

Narcissa noticed a burst of something off in the near distance; edging closer to her husband she hend out her hand towards him for reassurance. "Lucius, what could be out here…? Did you notice that burst too?" Keeping her eye on the the growing light, she took one small step towards it, an unknown force urging her to go forward.

"Yes, it seems as though we might have a surprise visitor who lost their manners." Grasping her hand, he tugged her closer to him as though it would protect her.

"Should we wait until they approach us?" she took another step again, tugging him along slightly.

"Let's keep our guards up for now, the- Cissa, get back here." Lucius attempted to catch her hand again to pull her back against him, trying to protect her from what was lurking.

"No, I need to go see… I have this feeling…" Approaching the now unmistakable swirl of flames, Narcissa spotted a cloaked figure trudging up the hill towards their home. "Who are you? What do you want from us?" she called into the wind. The figure stopped before it sped up towards her. "Stop! Don't move or else!" She warned desperately, waiting for Lucius to stop dragging his feet.

Grabbing his wife's hand, they both briskly headed down the hill towards the firelight.

* * *

Tugging off her hood so the approaching figures could see her clearly, Hermione moved the fire to one hand, while the other attempted to hold back her hair from blocking her vision. Nibbling her bottom lip nervously, she began to wonder whether she should be scared for her life. A grumble from her stomach told her she might not have a life left if they turned her glanced up at the sky, catching a shooting star flying its way to heaven. Sighing heavily, she steeled her spine and awaited her fate.

* * *

Narcissa's eyes widened as she took in the _small_ figure before them, hair whipping around in the wind as the fire in her hand grew hotter. No, not ordinary fire. _FiendFyre._ Clenching her husband's hand, she stepped towards the young girl, barely any older than her own son.

"Lucius… she's just a girl. Oh Merlin, we need to help her." she gasped out as tears threatened to fall. Rushing towards the girl, they stop a few feet away from her, taking notice of how tense and scared she seemed.

"No, don't be scared little one. We're going to help you. Come closer?" She cooed out reassuringly, hoping, just hoping the girl wouldn't run off scared like a doe.

Holding out her hand for the girl to take, she let her eyes wander across the girl's appearance, taking in her lack of shoes and a thin cloak covering her even thinner form. Her heart tightened in her chest, wondering if this would be what Draco would be going through if the roles were reversed. Holding her breath as the little girl reached out slowly and held her hand, she let out a sigh of relief knowing the little girl accept their help.

Crouching down to the girl's eye level, she spoke softly, "What's your name, little one?" But as the girl opened her mouth to answer, she promptly fainted. Alarmed, she caught the girl in her arms, holding her cold frame tightly, trying to heat it up with her own body heat.

"Lucius, we need a Healer. NOW!" Turning to her husband, he shrugged off his cloak and draped it across the girl before taking her into his arms instead, disapparating all three of them to the manor. He settled the girl down while Narcissa fire floo-ed for their personal Healer to come urgently. Hurrying back to the girl's side, Narcissa arranged blankets and pillows around her, levitating the couch closer to the flames to get her temperature rising. Walking briskly to the kitchen, Lucius ordered the house elves to make a bowl of soup for their newest guest, murmuring about the cold of the outside and how it could affect their guest's health.

"Mother?" Draco popped his little silver blonde head into the room, taking in the hustle of the Healer as he worked over something on the couch. Stepping into the room, he began to toddle towards his mother who hadn't heard him. "Mother? What's happening? Is something wrong with father?"

Jumping at her son's voice, Narcissa rushed to her baby boy, picking him up and holding him tightly as though he'd disappear. "Oh my dear sweet boy, everything's okay. Mother loves you, okay?" She whispered in his ear, tears threatening to fall; Lucius came back into the room, taking in the scene. Glancing at his wife and son, he crossed the room to speak to the healer, conversing in low tones.

"What's wrong with the poor girl? Will she make a full recovery?" Lucius demanded.

"She's recovering well, Mr. Malfoy; But so very lucky you found her when you did. She was on the cusp of death in this condition. Hypothermia, malnutrition, broken bones and" whispering further "evidence of abuse." Shuffling his feet, the Healer glanced across the room to Mrs Malfoy and the young Malfoy heir. Meeting Lucius' eyes again, he asks quietly "After she recovers, do you wish I bring her to the orphanage?"

"I'll need to discuss this with my wife. She already seems enamored of the young girl. You may go, we'll floo you in case anything else arises. Thank you for your help, Healer Smith." Dismissing him, Lucius watched as the Healer disappeared through the floo, a brief flash of green smoke signaling his departure.

Carrying Draco over to the couch with the little girl, Narcissa puts him down and sits on the floor next to the couch, brushing her hand across the girl's forehead lightly. Tucking the girl into the blankets, she sighs heavily and begins humming a tune softly to soothe the girl's furrowed brow as she slept.

Draco, curious about who this new person is, tugs on his mother's sleeve. "Mother? Who is this?" Casting a look of contempt to the girl that was sprawled on his favorite spot, he huffs and pouts when his father looks at him scoldingly at him. Lucius sighs and rolls his eyes, striding over to his little family. Summoning a chair, he sits down and motions for Draco to come sit on his lap. Pouting and thinking it would be a lecture, Draco drags his feet and climbs on slowly to try to buy time for the inevitable. Chuckling at his expression, Lucius thinks over his words carefully, looking over at his wife and their new guest thoughtfully.

"Draco, not many people have the same pleasures as we do. You know what it means to be a Malfoy, don't you? Well people live by different standards unlike the other pure blooded families we associate with. Some families are worse off than us, which is why your mother holds charity events every month. To help those families in need. Well, this little girl right here, she's had a tough life so far. She's going to need kindness from us while she recovers, okay? Can you be a Malfoy?" Lucius asks, his gaze never leaving Narcissa's profile- taking notice of the slight stiffening of her back when he mentioned a vague sense of her situation.

Draco sat and thought. And thought. And thought. Climbing off his father's lap, he summoned his house elf, Dobby. Popping into the room on command, Dobby immediately kneeled, his large floppy ears hanging down, curtaining his face. "Young master draco is in need of something?"

"Yes. Go grab my Otter and bring it here." Popping out and back in the room in seconds, Dobby presented his master's beloved Otter that he just _simply couldn't sleep without_. Grabbing the stuffed toy out of his elf's bony hands, Draco pads over to the couch where the strange girl was sleeping and tucked it into the crook of her arm, not noticing how his father smiled proudly and his mother's eyes flowed with tears of joy.

"She'll feel better in no time!" he declared softly so he didn't wake the girl. He leaned forward and kissed her slightly on the forehead like he's seen his father do for when mother was sick and crying in bed. He frowned at the memory of his father telling him that sometimes life is funny and people only have one child and that makes his mother sad. Shaking his head, he padded back over to his mother and cupped her cheeks with his tiny hands, kissing her forehead too. "Don't cry, mother. This way you get another child!"

Unable to express himself in any other way, Lucius stood up and strode over to his family and enveloped them in a big hug, holding them tight and thinking about if the roles were switched.

* * *

Only hours later when the family had retired for the night and their guest was moved into the medic room with the house elves watching her did Lucius tell his wife what the healer had assumed.

"Oh Lucius, can't we keep her? From the looks of her condition, she doesn't seem to have any family of her own and I know we don't know her blood status but did you see that FiendFyre? Surely it must be a sign that she's a powerful enough witch to be able to control it at her age!" Narcissa begged her husband, eyes shining with more unshed tears.

Kissing her forehead lightly like his son had done earlier in the night, he murmured "Already on it, my love. I'll have the papers drawn up in the morn'. We can just claim her as a war orphan from an obscure Death Eater and take her on as our ward." Tugging her to bed, he settled down and waited for her to snuggle into him like she always did.

Brushing her hair out of her face, he kissed her gently, savoring the feel of her being in one piece. Tonight's occurrence had him think more about his family's safety more than ever before. Brushing her fingertips against his Dark Mark, she kissed him back just as softly, reveling in the feel of having her family together. Pulling away, Lucius rubbed her back to soothe her into a restful sleep, listening for her soft breathing to lull him away as well.

* * *

Sometime in the night, Draco crawled out of his bed and padded down the hall to the room where he knew the elves were keeping their guest. Tippy toeing in the room quietly, Draco shushed the elve's protests and climbed into the bed with her, carefully slipping into the blankets. Pulling his otter halfway between them, he grasped one of her hands and held it, brushing his thumb lightly against her palm. Feeling someone watching him, he glances up to the girl's face and holds his breath when two amber eyes blink owlishly at him, sleep still lurking in her irises. Taking a chance, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead, before pulling back and burrowing more into the blanket, a blush warm on his pale cheeks. She blinks at him again and scoots closer, burrowing against him, the otter pressed between them.

This was how they found them in the morning, curled up with each other like a pair of baby kittens. One glance at his wife's face and Lucius knew that a betrothal was in the works.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **A/N : Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback and reviews! It's been such a delight waking up to emails of you guy's support. I originally wasn't going to continue this, but I forgot to click the complete button and posted it and when I woke up, BAM! Emails saying you guys liked it. So. Here we are! Please continue to R &R!**

Blinking her eyes slowly, Hermione stretched as she took in the sunshine flitting through the windows, painting the ceiling a bright gold and white. Sitting up in the ridiculously cushioned bed, she took in her surroundings and noted that she was in a beautiful white room with gold trimmings on almost _every_ furnishing in the room. _How did I get here…?_ She thought as she looked down at her new attire, a lacy white nightdress fit for a tiny princess like those dolls she saw through the windows at the shops.

Brow furrowing, she racked her brain for any clues as to what had happened the night before; Flashes of silver and warm firelight whizzed by in her brain, piecing together the only moments she could remember. _They must of saved me… But why do I feel as good as new?_ Lifting up the blanket, she looked at her legs, taking in how blemish free her feet were compared to the bloody ones she saw yesterday. _But… how?_ Looking over to her right, her amber eyes focused and widened when she saw a silver haired boy sleeping next to her. _So, that did happen! I wasn't hallucinating it!_ Nudging her bed mate awake, she prepared to ask him questions when her breath caught in her throat as he blinked opened his abnormally grey eyes. _Wow… I never seen that before_ , She thought as she waited for him to rouse himself awake fully.

* * *

Rubbing his eyes, Draco sat up and took in her appearance. He took note of how incredibly _bushy_ her hair was, and how she was looking at him like an owl trying to decide if he was important enough to her. His irritation started to simmer when she did something unexpected, handing him back his otter, then hugging him tightly. Feeling his face start to burn up in embarrassment, he moved away quickly, averting his gaze to try to control his blush. Girls were supposed to have _cooties_ but this one didn't get him sick… So he guess not every girl is bad like Pansy. Looking back at her, he ran his hand through his probably cow-licked hair and held his otter tight.

"Hey, you okay? I'm Draco Malfoy" he asked her using his inside voice that mother kept trying to remind him to use. _When you meet new people, you have to use good manners!_ He thought, grinning to himself that he remembered.

Tilting her head at him, she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Watching her brow pinch together in confusion, she tried again. Still nothing. Whimpering softly in fright, she tried screaming but only was able to let out a _squeak_. Sensing that she was _not_ okay, Draco reached out and held her hand, pulling her close and hugging her and rubbing her back like he saw father do for mother whenever she was panicky.

"Maybe you can't talks, but we can try to fix this problem! Maybe speaking is bad for you after what happened; that's why the healer was here last night! Do you know how to write? Mother and father had a tutor teach me, but I don't know if you can too. Father said you might not be the same as us, and that's okay! If not, I can teach you! Let's go! I have some quills and parchment in my room!" Climbing off the bed, he slipped on his slippers, motioning for her to follow his lead. Wasting no time, as soon as she slid off the bed, he grabbed her hand and tugged her along with him, running off down the hall towards his room where all his lesson supplies were. Stopping in front of his door, he let go of her hand so he could focus better. Glancing around the hall to make sure no one was nearby, he leaned forward and whispered "Otter" to unlock his bedroom door. Grinning brightly, Draco dragged Hermione in and let go of her hand so he could grab his things off his desk.

* * *

Hermione stood in awe as she took in his room that had a _SKY_ in it. She didn't even know if that was possible! Looking away from the moving clouds, she glanced around the room, taking in the large green and silver clad canopy bed and all the toys strewn around. Suddenly feeling like she didn't belong in this world, she tried inching out the door, a plan to run away already forming in her head. But before she could set a foot back out in the hallway, Draco had run back up to her, a feather, some paper and a jar of something black and murky.

"Come on! Come to the desk so you can writes better!" Tugging her hand again, he brought her over to the desk and sat her down, placing the items in front of her. Dragging another chair over, he sat down beside her and tried again. "I'm Draco Malfoy! What's your name?"

Grabbing the feather with a confused look on her face, she opened the jar and dipped it in, not sure how much she was supposed to be using. Dragging the feather over the parchment, she attempted to write with the feather. H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E. Setting her feather down, Hermione looked at the name with a feeling of pride that she could write using a _feather_.

* * *

Draco took one look and gave up. _What kind of name is that?_ he thought to himself, trying to sound it out in his head. Shaking his head, he pouted, "I'm sorry. I'm no good with complicated words. Maybe we can ask mother and father?" Running back to his bed where he placed his otter, he grabbed it and ran back to H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E and gave it to her, grabbing her hand again and running them through the shortcut in his closet that led them into the kitchen where the House Elves were. Grinning boyishly, he waved at the Elves while tugging a shocked and confused H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E behind him towards the dining room, eager to get his parent's help in finding out the girl's name.

"Mother! Father!" Draco yelled as he pushed open the dining room doors, showing his parents sitting down and enjoying their breakfast. Letting go of her hand momentarily, Draco pulled out a chair nearest to them and motioned for her to sit down, bouncing in excitement. Waiting till she settled in the seat completely, he began to try to push it in for her. Struggling to push in her chair, he huffed out in frustration and just _wished_ it would push itself in. He grinned smugly when it followed his command on the first try. Grabbing the paper with her name on it, he ran up to his parents who were looking on with curiosity and amusement pulling up at their lips.

"Draco, what did we say about inside voices?" His mother gently admonished him as she took in his rumpled form, still clad in his sleeping robes.

"Sorry, Mother" He apologized sheepishly, before continuing on using his inside voice "Mother, Father, I need your help! She wrote her name down because she can't talk and we dunno why she can't talk, but I can't read her name! It's too hard!" huffing out the last part, he put the paper on the table and crossed his arms, pouting in slight that he couldn't read it and that he required their help even though he's a big kid now.

* * *

Chuckling at their son's frustration, Narcissa and Lucius bent their heads together over the parchment and read the scraggly writing. Hermione. Her name was Hermione. The couple shared a look that said a thousand words before motioning for their son to come closer.

"Draco, my dear. Her name is Hermione. As a small lesson, what do we do with big words?" Narcissa coaxed gently, watching her son as his face screwed up in annoyance.

"Break it up?" he replied in an unsure tone, not quite wanting to go into a lesson.

"Correct! Then what do we do?" Smiling at her son, she reached out and attempted to magic away a cowlick on his little head.

"We sound out the parts!" Draco exclaimed excitedly.

"Indeed! So if we break it up like this" Narcissa swished her hand over the parchment, bringing the letters up in the air. Breaking the name out in syllables, noting how Hermione's eyes widening in disbelief, she turned back to her son and asked "How do we sound this out?"

"Her-Mi-O-Ne?" Draco's brow furrowed as he attempted to move his mouth to sound out the name correctly.

"Hermione! That's right!" Smiling at her son, she let the name disappear from the air before petting his head. Pulling away, she reached out to grasp her husband's hand, who was watching the girl with interest.

* * *

Grinning in pleasure that he had overcome their big obstacle, Draco thanked his parents and ran back to the other side of the dinner table where Hermione was poking at the breakfast the Elves had laid out before her. Climbing onto the chair next to her, he reached out for her hand and held it tight as he looked into her amber eyes pridefully.

"Hello Hermione! It's a pleasure to meet you!" and if it was a hard lesson to read her name, Hermione's rewarding smile made the effort worth it.

 **A/N : Draco's birthday is June 5th, 1980**

 **Hermione's birthday is September 19th, 1979**

 **So, in this fic, Hermione is 8, turning 9 next year, while Draco just turned 7? I think that's correct; It's 1:50 am right now, so I'm not sure. Please review and let me know if i got it right. The date is New Year's Day, January 1st 1987.**

 **I'll hopefully be able to start setting up a posting schedule, but for now, it'll be sporadic.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 **It's been a week, I know. But life has been so busy and i've just got off work. But here i am! Just wanted to say thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites :) you guys are the best! I know these chapters may be boring and long with lots of paragraphs, but I need to set up the background and the world before we can dive into Hogwarts. Now… onwards!**

Squaring her shoulders and lifting her head up, Hermione made eye contact with Draco's father, taking in how he studied her critically, with a kind of look that assessed her whole being and seemed to be piercing into her mind. Her rescuers may seem friendly and well, _unusual_ , but she wasn't going to let down her defenses. Letting her eyes sweep over Draco and who was clearly his mother, she mentally checked the escape routes in the room and steadied her hand on a fork, clenching it tight in case of a fight or flight moment. Draco, sensing she was tense, scooted closer to her and held her hand tightly, squeezing it twice to help make her feel better. Looking over at her new friend, she took in his bed head pale blonde almost silver hair and his bright grey eyes; sighing at herself for having a soft spot for him already. No one has treated her civilly for _years_ ever since she escaped, and she wasn't about to let her guard drop _too_ much. He'll be her exception.

"Well, Hermione, welcome to our home. We hope you have had a good rest and recovered from last night. Are you hungry? Do dig in; the elves would be hurt if you didn't at least nibble on your breakfast." Draco's mother's voice broke through her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. Tightening her hand around Draco's she smiled politely and nodded, the only form of communication she could use seeing as her feather and paper were across the table. Frowning just slightly, his mother snapped her finger and a sheet of paper and another bloody feather appeared in front of her. Nodding her thanks, Hermione grabbed the feather and began to write her reply.

" _Thank you so much for rescuing me last night, though I'm sorry I passed out... I slept really good, thank you! And I'll make sure to at least nibble at this yummy looking breakfast."_ With the last stroke of her feather, hermione picked up the paper and was in the process of getting out of her chair to hand it to them when she glanced up and dropped the paper in shock, eyes wide as she took in the black script dancing in the air, an identical copy of what she wrote. Squeaking slightly, her hands gripped the fabric of her dress to hide the shaking. _Magic. It was real. She wasn't the only one._ Sucking in her breath, she picked back up her feather and wrote a series of questions, hands barely pausing to dot her I's and cross her T's.

 _Who are you?_

 _Magic really exists?_

 _How do you do it?_

 _Can you teach me?_

 _I can't remember things, can you help me?_

 _Do you really use cauldrons?_

 _Why aren't you green?_

* * *

Sharing a look with her husband, Lucius held his wife's hand tighter before answering Hermione's questions. "Miss Hermione, my name is Lucius Malfoy and this is my wife, Narcissa Malfoy. We are pureblood wizards and witches with magic running through our blood. From that fire you displayed last night, we believe you are a witch too, which would enable us to teach you of our ways. As for your memory, we'll need to bring in a healer to see if there is anything we can do. Indeed we do use cauldrons to brew potions that have their own uses. I do not believe I understand your last question. We are just normal people, with normal skin tones." Watching as the little witch nibbled her lip as she processed the onslaught of new information, Lucius sighed heavily and let his wife take over next.

"See, Hermione dear… My husband and I had asked our legal representative to look into any missing child cases and it seems as though you do not pop up anywhere. We assumed you are an orphan and with that being said, we have gone through the motions of having you become our ward. Parents by name and paper only, but still parents. We planned to ask you to accept us, but it seems as though your current _condition_ forbids you from voicing yourself. If you're agreeable, we can set up a check in with our personal healer and see if we can fix that issue." Tilting her head questioningly, Narcissa smiled warmly at the small girl that dropped right into their lap, thinking of having the daughter she'd always wanted. Not that she didn't love her son of course, but she just simply _adored_ the thought of being able to dress up and raise a little girl of her own.

* * *

Hermione didn't dare to breathe as Narcissa described the legalities the couple had wanted to go through. Hyperventilating at the thought of not having to be alone or living on the streets, she almost forgot to breathe until she felt Draco hugging her, his warm body pressed against hers as he held her tightly in hopes of keeping her together and calming her down. Breathing in deeply, she closed her eyes and held him back just as tight, letting stray tears fall down her cheek, oblivious to the observing adults in the room.

"You'll be okay, Hermione. You can stay with us now! And that means we can play together and learn about magic together! I'll teach you everything I know! I don't know a lot like my mum and dad, but we'll have a tutor for that! I can show you my practice wand too! We can't do a lot of magic on it though, since it isn't the real thing... But we can do plenty of other stuff!" Pulling away, Draco grinned brightly at her, his smile faltering seeing tears running down her cheeks.

"Please don't cry… Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?" keening slightly, Draco used his sleeping robe's sleeve to wipe away her tears, peering at her worriedly.

Sniffling, Hermione shook her head and hugged him again, a bit tighter. The two children stood there in silence as they held each other, oblivious to the amused and slightly emotional adults watching them. At the sound of a clearing throat, the two children parted, but fasted their hands together as though standing unified against the two adults in the room. Narcissa smiled fondly at them before sighing contently.

"My Little dragon, why don't you bring our new family member to her room so she can freshen up for the day? And you should too. Your tail is untucked and your hair unruly." Dismissing them with a casual wave of her hand, she smiled wider when she saw her son tug on his new friend's hand, pulling her to the dining room's main door leading to the foyer before whispering in her ear. The two curtsied and bowed respectively before leaving the room, no doubt running through the halls to do as they were bid. Leaning against her husband's arm, Narcissa linked her arm through his and held his hand, thinking of the future and pesky little family secrets as she gazed at the door in which they left.

Dashing through the halls, Draco's laughter echoed against the walls, making the portraits on the wall chuckle in amusement at the youngster, most likely drawing forth childhood memories.

"C'mon Hermione! Mum said we need to get cleaned up!" Skidding to a stop in front of her room, he took her palm and pressed it against the handle, unlocking the door and signing it to her magical aura only. Hermione felt a dull zing course through her body before the door swung open, revealing a slightly more personalized room, complete with a white chest overflowing with toys. "You get ready and I'll go clean up too! I'll be right back!" Draco said as he rushed off to his room, throwing a smile over his shoulder.

Walking into the room, Hermione took in the feel of the room, noting how airy and bright it felt. The carpets were lush beneath her healed soles and she swore it felt like walking on a cloud. Brushing a hand through her hair, she edged her way towards the vanity sitting between two floor to ceiling windows, adorned with snow white curtains. Sitting down on the stool, she carefully opened the drawers, nudging things aside to find a brush to tame her frizzy mane. Sighing,she laid her head on the tabletop and wished that she could somehow find a way to fix things as easily as snapping her fingers. At that thought, she heard a soft pop! From the corner of the room. Jumping in fright, hermione ran towards the windows, trying to ease one open in a flight instead of fight decision.

"Young miss! You can't open the windows! Young miss!" a soft distraught voice called out, freezing hermione. Turning around slowly, hermione's eyes widened as she took in a form of a _Thing,_ standing in the corner of her room. No, not a thing. But an _Elf_ if she recalled the Malfoys called them. Inching her way to the desk in the corner of the room, she rifled through the drawers until she found paper and a feather with a pot of ink.

" _You're an Elf?_ " Hermione wrote out, holding the parchment so the elf could read.

"Yes I be an House Elf, young miss. Name is Jaime. Jaime was sent to help young miss!" The elf stood tall, ears flopping in her face slightly as she looked at her new young miss.

" _I'm sorry… But an House Elf? What in the god's name is that?_ " Hermione asked incredulously, eyeing the elf skeptically as if it was just a costume and she was being tricked nearly 11 months early before Halloween.

"Yes, young miss. Jaime is a House Elf. We serve wizards and witches. Can't take care of themselves, that's why we take care of them. Such a pretty young miss. Jaime is proud to serve young miss!" Edging towards Hermione slowly as to not frighten her, Jaime guided her back to the vanity, sitting her down on the seat before summoning a brush, combing through her tangles softly. "Young miss will be taken care of, yes she will!" And with that, Jaime dove into her work, answering a shocked hermione's questions along the way while teaching her a bit about the magical world. Jaime understandably panicked when Hermione asked about _freedom._

 **A/N : Sorry for the roughness of this chapter! I hope you guys enjoy my story nonetheless though! Please R &R! Leave any PMs or Reviews with questions and I'll see if i can answer without spoiling anything!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N** **: Thank you guys for the continued support! Shoutout for those constant reviewers too ;) you know who you are! So, trigger warnings for a tiny bit of** _ **abuse**_ **that I had mentioned earlier! Also, I honestly can't answer any of your questions about the plot right now unless it's something that I had maybe stated in the previous chapters. Please enjoy and review! Means so much to me!**

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Chapter 4

9:57 AM, January 1st, 1988(?)

Fingering the hem of her dress, Hermione shivered in sheer happiness at being able to wear something so _clean_ and soft. Living in the streets wasn't easy, and getting clean was harder. She was so thankful the Malfoys had decided to take her in, but she still couldn't quite shake the feeling she couldn't trust them yet. Draco was an exception though. Staring down at the polished shoes that Jaime had forced her in, Hermione thought about the confirmation of magic. She always knew something was different about her. No one else she knew had been able to conjure a fire in their hand like she had done so effortlessly. Brow furrowing, she thought about Magic as a whole. Is it evil? A faint flash of something flew across her mind. Shaking her head, causing a few curls to loosen themselves out of the elaborate braided bun that Jaime had made so effortlessly with a wave of her hand, Hermione looked up to see a freshened up Draco running down the hall towards her. Tucking a stray curl behind her ear, she stood taller and clasped her hands behind her back, waiting for him to come towards her.

"Hermione!" Draco yelled as he neared her. Skidding to a stop in front of her, Hermione took in his appearance of slicked back silver blonde hair and tucked in suit, looking like he was going to a party. Kicking her feet, Hermione smiled at him brightly, honestly happy she had a friend in this world.

"Are you ready? You look pretty! Did Jaime take care of you? She's did so good! She's your own Elf now! I have one too! His name is Arthur though! But we haveta hurry! Mum and father would want us down there as soon as we can! It's breakfast time!" Rushing through his greetings, Draco took Hermione's hand in his and dragged them down through the short cut they took earlier, letting Hermione's gaze take in the House Elves in the kitchen who were peering at her with curiosity.

* * *

Bursting through the dining room doors yet again, the two kids reclaimed their seats at the dining table, nodding to his parents respectively in greeting before piling their plates full of pancakes and fruit. Hermione eyed the omelettes on the table, but talked herself out of it when she noticed that it was closer to the elder Malfoys than she would of liked. Scooting herself closer to Draco, she picked up her fork and knife and began to cut into her pancakes slowly as to not make a mess of the syrup dripping over the edge of the stack.

Narcissa let the kids eat a bit before venturing out with a question, "So, Hermione, dear… to make communication easier for us, do you mind terribly if I cast a spell on you so that your thoughts that you would like to _share_ with us, could be broadcasted like the spell from before?" Picking up her tea cup, Narcissa took a sip while watching for Hermione's reaction. At her nod of approval, Narcissa waved her hand and a strange feeling of magic settled over Hermione before it disappeared completely. Crafting her words carefully, Narcissa took note of how Draco had stopped eating and had begun to stare at Hermione as if he wanted to ask her something but didn't know how to go about it. He eventually sighed and reached out for her hand, holding it tight.

"Do you remember where you came from?" She asked lightly, keeping an eye out for any subtle signs.

" _No._ " Hermione clenched her fork tighter as her answer lit up in bold red script in the air; It faded in moments and soon it seemed as though it never happened at all.

"How old are you?" Taking a sip of her tea again, she felt her husband rest his hand her waist, bring her in closer. Placing her cup down gently, she pursed her lips as she leaned against her husband's frame.

" _I'm 8, Ma'am_ " Answering as well as she can, Hermione put down her fork and stared at Mrs. Malfoy, holding her breath.

"Call me Narcissa, or mum. Whichever you prefer, sweetie. I'm not quite old enough to be called Ma'am" She laughed softly, smiling at the little girl she's going to adopt. "What's your earliest memory?" Softening her gaze, she took in how distraught her son seemed with something, and filed it away for later.

" _I remember running and then black and next thing, I woke up in the middle of a street. I've been alone ever since._ " Draco made to reach out for Hermione, before pulling back and wrapping his little arms around himself, as if to stop him from doing something. His little blonde head leaned forward though, as though it was trying to lead him to her.

"How long ago was that?" Her husband nudged her as he kept an eye on his only son, eyes narrowing to grey slits as he took in his son's reaction of the girl's answers while his wife did her questioning.

" _I don't know. 3 Winters? Time wasn't easy to hang onto. Newspaper sales boys wouldn't let me near their carts…_ " Hermione trailed off, looking down at her plate. Draco climbed off his chair and moved onto hers, squishing them as he hugged her tightly while he patted her hair softly, keening quietly at her discomfort.

Noticing this, Narcissa knew she had to ask this question, her heart cracking as she took in her son and soon to be ward's expression. "You've been alone that long?" Breathing in sharply, Narcissa felt her husband rub soothing circles on the small of her back as she watched the girl break before her.

" _Well there hasn't been anyone else offering help, so yes. Yes I've been alone_." Pushing away from the chair, she made to ran out but only made it to the doors leading out to the foyer when Draco caught up to her, hugging her tightly from behind. Turning around, Hermione wrapped her arms around him, tears streaming down her face and soaking his shirt as he rubbed her back soothingly like he's seen his parents do for each other and him whenever someone was upset. Keening again, Draco pulled back and used his sleeves to wipe away her tears again, eyes searching hers to see if she was going to be okay. Kissing her forehead, he hugged her again before glaring at his parents accusingly, blaming the questions his mum asked, for making her cry.

"Please don't cry, Hermione… I'm wight here…" Whimpering softly, he held her tighter ash he sobs turned into small sniffles. Furrowing his brows, and pouting slightly, Draco tilted her chin up and made sure to wipe every tear from her red splotchy face. Giggling at his disgusted expression when he touched a bit of her snot, she wiped at her face with her hands, before wiping them on her new dress. A house elf popped in and cleared the stains on her dress before popping out without a word to anyone. Leading Hermione back to the table, Draco nudged her onto the chair before climbing on himself and squishing them again. With a subtle wave of his wand, Lucius transfigured and widened the chair so two children could sit comfortably while still being near each other.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, But we simply had to know these basics before we asked a Healer to come over. Please do forgive us." Before Hermione could answer however, another Elf popped into the room in front of Lucius and bowed so low, his nose scraped the floor.

"Master, there be someone calling for Master in the floo"

"Who is it?" Lucius demanded.

"Dobby does not know. All he says is he be coming through if master permits it." Standing up tall, Dobby kept his eyes on the ground as to not meet his not favorite master's gaze.

Sighing in annoyance, Lucius sat up straight and waved his hand dismissively, "Well alright then. Let them in and lead them here." Removing the napkin from his lap, He placed it on the table next to his plate before waving his wand and casting a scourgify for anything unseemly.

"As master wishes." And with that, Dobby popped out of the room.

Narcissa turned to the children as she waved a hand around her head, fixing any runaway hairs. Casting a _scourgify_ on herself and the children, she cast a hair fixing spell towards Hermione to fixed the unruly bun that dominated the little girl's head. She should bring Hermione to a hairdresser to see if they could fix that owl's nest on her…

"Alright, children. We're going to be have a surprise guest coming in here soon, so please be on your best behavior. And I mean it, Draco Lucius Malfoy. Nothing like that silly thing you pulled at the Nott's Estate last week during the Yule party. Hermione, I'll be enrolling you in etiquette lessons as soon as we get your condition fixed and your health taken care of." Nodding their understanding, Draco and Hermione let go of each other and sat up tall, not wanting to get into trouble. Just as everything was fixed, a tall figure burst through the door, arms arcing wide as if receive a hug from the sun itself.

* * *

Antonin Dolohov stood tall at 6ft 3inches with a head full of dark curly hair and brown eyes that sat upon a long but chiseled pale face. If there was a face to compare, the best they could find was he had a strong jaw and a straight nose. His robes suggested he had been traveling a while, but had not been taking care of himself as people normally would. Within moments of entering, the stench of piss and garbage permeated the room, causing the kids to cover their nose and Narcissa to wiggle her nose, and waving her wand subtly to mask the odor.

"Malfoys! How are you this fine morning? Excuse me for dropping in so suddenly, but circumstances had created a need for me to find shelter. Surely you understand." Antonin smiled brightly at them, before walking over and settling down into a chair, piling food at his leisure onto his plate. He ignored the children completely.

"Antonin, how have you been these past years? Escaping authorities?" Lucius asked dryly, his eyes sweeping over the man that he had dubbed "not the brightest" in their small group of higher up Death Eaters. Narcissa regarded the man coolly, dismissing his lack of manners as a personal flaw that she knew would never be corrected. Her eyes swept to the children and widened in shock as she saw Hermione staring in fright at Antonin as she shook in her seat. Draco was busily trying to calm her down as much as he could, his eyes darting over her face as he tried each method and gauged her reaction. Soon enough, a keening and whimpering sound broke past his lips when nothing worked, startling the two men from the conversation they were having.

"'AY, what's this noise? I'm sure Narcissa taught you better, boy." Turning his head, he took in the little Malfoy brat and assessed the brown haired girl with him. Brown haired? Not a Malfoy… Did Lucius tumble into the wrong bed? Or… wait. The little girl seemed familiar… Looking straight at her, Antonin took in the wide eyes and a memory just _snapped!_ into place. Grinning cruelly, he pushed away his plate and stood up, making his way to the end of the table where the kids sat.

"Well, well, well. Looks like you found my little pet. Where did you find her? I'd like to thank you for keeping _such_ good care of her for me… But I'll be taking her home now." Before anyone could do anything, Antonin reached out and grabbed a frightened Hermione, tearing her away from Draco. Tossing her over his shoulder, he turned around and bowed to his hosts respectively. Snapping out of their shock, both elder Malfoys whipped out their wands and aimed it at him, sneering at his behavior.

"Let her go, Antonin. She's ours now." They demanded.

To their dismay, he only laughed and grinned wider at them. "No, I don't believe so. She's my long lost pet. Ran away from me, she did… Even burnt down my home! No, she gets to come home and take her _punishment_." Laughing, he spanked Hermione roughly, emitting a cry of pain from her.

Launching himself at the kidnapper, Draco landed on his back and began kicking and biting, his nails digging into the thick skin of the muscled dark haired man. Yelling at the sudden bite to his arm, Antonin lost his grip on Hermione as he tried to rid himself of Draco. Screaming, Hermione fell to the floor and rolled herself away, before dashing forward and kicking Antonin in the shin, causing him to drop Draco to the floor. The two rolled under the table as a lightning green light flew across the room and hit Antonin in the chest, topping him over a chair, breaking it in his fall.

* * *

Draco and Hermione held onto each other under the table, taking note of injuries on their bodies and if the other was okay. Nuzzling her neck, Draco whimpered and held onto Hermione tightly as she ran her hand through his hair, silently reassuring him that _she was fine and that he didn't need to worry and is he okay?_

"I'm okay…" Draco murmured, rubbing her back and just overall making sure she was okay.

"Draco? Hermione? Come out now, let me heal you." Crawling out of their safe place, they were immediately swept up into the Elder Malfoy's arms, being coddled and worried over. Lucius carried Hermione out of the room with his wife and son following as they headed to the sitting room, away from the dead body sprawled on their Dining room floor. Settling down into a plush chair, Lucius sat her on his knee while he ran a diagnostic charm over her and healed any scrapes and cuts she had endured while being in Antonin's grasps. Feeling satisfied with his handiwork, Lucius held her close, rubbing her back as his wife was doing for their son. Coughing in realization of his affections, Lucius gathered his composure and set hermione down where she looked up at Lucius with wide curious eyes before running over to Draco and tugging him out his mother's smothering embrace, unable to stay away from him long. The two settled on the opposite couch, curled up around one another like they had the first night Hermione had arrived.

"Hermione? Can you tell us what happened…?" Narcissa asked worriedly, remembering her reaction to seeing Antonin and wondering if it had a connection to what she couldn't remember. Hopefully, sad as it sounds, she was able to recover some of her memories, thus unlocking information on just who she was.

" _I remember now…_ " Thick script appeared in the air above Hermione before fading away. Draco clutched onto her tighter, feeling her rising anxiety rolling through her body and tensing her muscles.

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 **A/N :** **WHOO! WAS THAT A LONG ONE! I do hope you guys enjoy it! Please, any critique on my spelling/grammar/ect, (PM) me! Leave the review sections for any questions regarding the story/characters and I'll answer them in my next chapter! I'm thinking a few more before we hit the Hogwarts related scenes and we should be good! I hope you guys enjoyed the little bertie bott's beans I've left hidden! R &R! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N : SO SO SO SORRY! I'm so sorry for the wait! But this chapter was particularly a fussy one as it didn't want to be written! I had this whooooole idea for this chapter and when push came to shove, it just wasn't working. I've been working on it since my last update (the 15th?) till now (2:08 AM of the 29th) and WHEW! I AM GLAD THIS IS OVER! I still don't have a beta yet, so these chapters are pretty rough around the edges and I'm sorry if things are hard to read. (Any big corrections, please PM it to me and I'll edit it in the files. Thank you!)**

 **As always! Thank you for the reviews and words of encouragement :D This story would've stayed a one-shot/drabble thing if it wasn't for your words of support to create it into something more. Please enjoy! Also, R &R? Thanks!**

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Chapter 5

Closing her eyes, Hermione attempted to breathe in and out evenly, her hand clutching onto her dress as though she could hold her own heart in her hand and stop its unsteady beating. Seconds later, she screamed.

A searing sensation raced through her body, shaking it in forceful tremors. _It hurts it hurts it hurts_ she tried gasping out. Clutching onto the nearest thing, she dug in her fingers, wishing for the pain to go away. She felt like she was burning. That there was liquid heat racing through her veins and just setting her on fire from the inside. _Oh god, am I dying?_ Her throat felt raw, piercing screams filling the air. She heard shouting, but she wasn't sure if it was her own or someone else in the room.

* * *

In the moments since Hermione's screaming started, Draco screamed loudly before clutching onto her convulsing body, attempting to stabilize the painful contortions.

"Hermione! Hermione! Mum! Dad! Help! Something is wrong with Hermione!"

He held her tighter, sobbing out for assistance, tears streaming down his face as he tried to help his new friend. Wrapping his arms around her torso, he tugged her closer to him, wishing that she could stop hurting and whatever was happening, to just _go away._

Suddenly, the pain faded and Hermione could feel a set of arms around her. The comforting sensation drew her in, causing her to breathe in and out deeply before settling against the warmth, eyes closed. Draco's eyes widened before closing and his arms tightened around her. Wrapping her own little arms around him, Hermione held him just as tightly. Breathing in the scent of green apples, Hermione calmed herself down enough to stop digging her nails into Draco's skin, leaving deep red cuts. Pulling away, Hermione leaned up and pressed her forehead against Draco's, just breathing in and out in tune with him.

"You remember?" He whispered, his frightened grey eyes searching hers.

"Yeah…" She breathed out, her body relaxing.

"You can talk…" Breathing back in with awe laced in his tone, Draco closed his eyes in relief.

"I can now…" Closing her eyes, she tried to figure out why she could speak again. The two children held each other tightly before letting go and holding hands, facing the elder Malfoys.

"Hermione, my dear… You can talk now?"

"Yes Narcissa… I don't know why I can all of a sudden."

"Oh dear, it could've been anything. We need a healer to come immediately. Do you remember anything?

"I sorta remember things but not a lot..."

"Come, let's go sit in front of the fire and have the Elve's make some hot cocoa for you two, alright? Flutter!" Snapping her fingers, Narcissa made her way the fireplace in the room, swiftly shutting down the floo access for anything but emergencies.

"Yes mistress?" Popping into the room, the elf edged towards Narcissa at a polite distance, still keeping a subtle amount of room between the her and her Master. Bowing, Flutter kept her eyes on the ground, careful not to make any eye contact with anyone.

"Please bring two hot cocoa for the children and I think we're in need of some Firewhiskey. Start a fire in Lucius' study, please." Lucius nodded in silent agreement and made his way to an ivory white bookcase with gold trimmings. The case was lined with many leather bound books, the titles too worn to be read.

"Yes mistress." Bowing one more time, Flutter popped out of the room without another word.

"Let's go children. Lucius' private study is a bit hidden, so you'll need to stay with us so you won't get lost."

"Draco, come with me."

Panicking, Hermione clutched onto Draco, the thought of him leaving her terrified her in this fragile moment. Feeling the creeping feeling of a panic attack slowly twining its way around her, Hermione hid her face against his chest, breathing in his scent of freshly cut green apples in an attempt to calm herself down.

"Maybe we should allow the children to walk together. Lucius, lead the way and I'll take the rear end?" Nodding his head in agreement, Lucius took a few steps to the end of the bookshelf and palmed a worn book on the upper left corner, a crackle of blue magic outlining the bookcase before sliding it up from view.

* * *

"Come along now, we can't keep it open long." Lucius beckoned them closer, waiting until they had all entered the pathway before turning around and closing the doorway with the press of his palm against the side wall. Whispering a _lumos,_ Lucius headed back to the front of the group and led the way, the dim light of his wand a constant in the ever changing material of the pathway. Hermione looked around, taking in the neatly painted walls before they faded into crumbly rock and then lastly down to wooden means and packed dirt. Alas they reached a set of ornate white doors which swung open in the wake of their approach, revealing a dimly lit room with plush brown chairs and couches spread randomly throughout the room. Stepping inside, Hermione felt the whoosh of air behind as the doors swung themselves closed. Taking in her surroundings, she noted a great stone fireplace with a roaring fire, stationed in the middle of the room on the far wall. In the far right corner set a intricately carved wooden brown desk and a plush brick red/brown chair pushed in behind it. Settled all around her were shelves upon shelves of various trinkets and jewelry. The biggest gem of all was a glass case sitting in the corner of the room, housing a diamond tiara upon a mannequin's head.

Draco tugged Hermione's hand, bringing her over to a love seat situated towards the fireplace, while the elder malfoys sat in the 2 single chairs opposite of them. As soon as they were seated, a tray consisting of 2 mugs of hot Cocoa and 2 glasses of firewhiskey appeared before them on the ornate coffee table separating the elder Malfoys from the youngsters. Grabbing their respective drinks, they all stared at one another before Narcissa broke the uncomfortable silence.

"What do you remember, dear?"

Looking down into her mug, Hermione's thumb traced the side idly as she thought out her answer. "I remember some important things but there are still some gaps…"

"Can you tell us about who are you?"

"All I know is my name… I'm sorry…"

Exchanging a glance with her husband, Narcissa cleared her throat delicately and offered a solution to their problem. "Well… what if we collected your memories and watched them together? We have a pensieve that we could utilize. We just need to extract certain ones and we can piece things together?"

"Cissa, love, I don't think we should expose Draco to her memories. We don't know what will be shown and …" Trailing off, Lucius glanced over at his pouting son, who was put out of being left out of important things. "What if I just delve into Hermione's mind and pull out what I deem important? Then the children can entertain themselves while you and I watch the memories?"

"We'll just call Jaime instead and have them distracted. I don't want them leaving right now… Who knows what other guests will show up? I know our floo access is only accessible to your former _associates_ but asking to enter the Manor with our permission? Merely a formality that many of them lack."

"Then so be it. Let me just extract the memories, while you call for Jaime."

"Hermione, dear, can you sit still for Lucius? It won't hurt at all, we promise."

Looking at her straight in the eyes, Lucius whispered _Legilimens_ ; Assaulted by brief flashing of images and sounds, Lucius waded through the onslaught, pulling at memories that could help them solve their mystery, breathing heavily at the exertion of having to shove away thoughts.

 _Screaming. Cold. Pain. Another voice. Fire. Yelling. Cold._

* * *

Leaving Hermione's mind, Lucius breathed out heavily, already feeling grey hairs growing on his head from the amount of stress these two days have brought on. Narcissa reached out and brushed back his hair, smoothing his hair back. Hermione and Draco looked at them curiously, wondering what was wrong. Hermione nibbled her lip nervously,thinking that she had maybe done something wrong and had hurt Lucius on accident. Sensing her anxiety, Draco mimicked his mother's movement and brushed his hand through Hermione's hair, the calming effect lost as his fingers tangled in her bun and pulled out some tangled hair.

"OWWIE!" Hermione screeched hand immediately flying up to her hair, clutching at it as though it could soothe her scalp. Draco, panicking, desperately tried to pull his hand away as though he could lessen her pain. Unfortunately, it just made matters worse. Narcissa sighed at the situation before flicking her wand, separating Draco's hand from Hermione's hair. Another flick fixed her hair.

"Okay, Hermione. Can you sit still for just a moment?" Nodding her head, Hermione sat very still and kept her eyes trained on Narcissa as Lucius leveled his wand and brushed the tip against her head, just a featherlight stroke as he extracted and bottled the memories. Lucius pulled away as he bottled up the last one, exchanging glances with Narcissa before striding over to his desk and pulling out a glass pensieve and placing it on the glossy wood desk top.

"Jaime." Narcissa called for Hermione's personal elf, rationalizing that she would be more comfortable with her than the other elves she had yet to meet.

Pop! Bowing, Jaime took one peek at the pouting children on the seat before training her eyes on the ground respectively. "Yes mistress?"

"Entertain the children while Lucius and I attend to important matters. Protect them." Brushing her hands over non-existent wrinkles on her cashmere white dress, Narcissa took a deep breath and eyed the children suspiciously as though they would run off and cause even more trouble now that the supervising unit was changing gears.

"Yes mistress. Come now, young master and mistress. Let us play over here." Grinning and squealing excitedly, the children jumped up from the chair and ran towards Jaime, asking numerous questions about the festivities. With the children properly distracted, Narcissa made her way over to Lucius' desk and stood across from him, mentally preparing herself for whatever there was to see from Hermione's new found memory.

"Ready?" Reaching out for Narcissa's hand, Lucius worried whether the memories would be too much for her to bare witness. Taking in the steel in her spine and the determined look in her eyes, he remembered just why he loved his witch. _Fearless._

"Yes." Holding each other's hands, Husband and wife closed their eyes and counted to three backwards; taking a deep breath, they opened their eyes and nodded.

And with that, they dove into Hermione's first memory.

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 **A/N : Man, I should edit this more… Sorry for the rough read guys! But I promise the next few chapters will be easier (and faster) to read! I'll be posting each memory as their own separate chapter, so they will be short! Again, R &R and thank you again!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Memory One

**A/N : I originally wanted to reveal Hermione's past piece by piece as the story went on, but it didn't feel right to me. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the last chapter even though it was a rough read. Things** _ **will**_ **be getting dark, fluffy and so on in the future chapters. And Yes, Hermione is a muggle-born. I have thought about making her a secret pureblood or a halfblood but I adored Muggle-born Hermione because she continuously fights to prove herself and I just really admire her strength. Okay, so without further ado~ Lets read! I hope you guys enjoy and review :D**

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Chapter 6

The memory swirled before them in a dark blur before focusing the image. Both Narcissa and Lucius seemed to be seated in the cabin of a beat up red chevy truck, zooming through the dark winter night with snow clad trees blurring by them. The woman driving the muggle vehicle looked distraught, with her hair in matted tangles and bloodshot eyes as tears trailed down her cheeks, no sound giving any indication that she was crying to the little frizzy brown haired girl seated in the back, gripping tightly onto a stuffed dragon that had seen better days... Hiding a grimace, Lucius looked down at the little girl and immediately identified her as Hermione with the wild hair. Nudging Narcissa discreetly, they both re positioned themselves to take in as much detail as possible to examine later, not knowing how long they would have in this memory.

Hermione looked out the car windows, taking in the dark blur of trees passing by them as they traveled to an unknown destination. "Mama? Where are we going?" hugging her stuffed dragon close, Hermione readjusted herself on the seat and yawned, thinking of her absent father.

"To somewhere safe, Hermione. We're going to be alright." Sniffling, Jean Granger wiped her eyes with the ragged sleeve of a dark purple sweater that had dirt stains on the elbows. Glancing in the rear view mirror as she drove, she let out a shaky sigh of relief when she saw that her daughter was still in one piece. _Drive Drive Drive. Just keep Driving._ A glint of silver caught her eye on her steering wheel, drawing her attention to the simple silver band adorning her left ring finger, a symbol of love that she had exchanged with her husband. _Oh Love, I hope you are alright._ Breathing in and out quickly, Jean refocused on the task at hand and just _kept driving._

"Mama, where is daddy?" The innocent question snuck past her defenses and left Jean heartbroken, knowing that she had no idea how to answer that question. Glancing back in the rear view mirror, she eyed her daughter speculatively before answering in a surprisingly strong and even voice.

"Daddy is doing something very important, okay? Can you play with your stuffed dragon for me? Mommy needs to focus on driving" Breathing deeply, her hands clutched onto the steering wheel tighter, turning her already pale hands even whiter. The road ahead had many trees and had started winding across the mountain side, reminding her of those older days where her and her husband had traveled across the countryside, not having a care in the world. Taking pictures, camping out and just living free… All until they had picked up that wounded hitch hiker. Antonin Dolohov. She'll never forget the day she regretted how naive they were. It seemed like hours had past before they had reached their destination : An old cabin that her and her husband had used frequently before Hermione was born. She was an unexpected bundle of joy, something that they never planned on, but they couldn't find it in themselves to regret what had come to pass.

Shutting down the car engine, Jean hopped out of the driver's side and briskly made her way to Hermione's door, unaware of the Elder Malfoys watching her every move. Opening the door carefully as to not wake the now sleeping Hermione, Jean slowly unbuckled Hermione from her booster seat, taking care not to touch her skin directly so the cold didn't startle her awake. Stepping away from the car for just a moment, Jean tipped her head towards the sky, letting her eyes close in an attempt to contain any tears that were attempting to make a daring escape down her already red cheeks.

"Mommy, it's cold." Yawning tiredly, Hermione mumbled quietly to her mum, hoping she could fix the issue. A gust of wind blew into the back seat, causing Hermione to stir from her slumber. Peeling open an eye, Hermione burrowed deeper against the car cushions seeking warmth against the winter chill.

"I know dear, I know." Hurriedly picking up her daughter, Jean shut the car door with a slam, striding up the pathway to the cabin, wrapping her arms protectively around her daughter as though she was going to be ripped out of her arms at any given moment. Fumbling with her key chain for the correct key, they stumbled through the front door before slamming it shut, keeping out the wind. Setting Hermione down on a worn bean bag near the fireplace, Jean started up a small fire to help warm them up, but a roar dull enough to hide them. Tucking a blanket around Hermione, Jean ran a hand through her matted hair, grimacing slightly at the oily feel. Looking around at her old home, she breathed in the heavy woodsy aroma she has come accustomed to in all those years of traveling in her youth. Making her way to the small kitchenette settled in an oddly shaped nook, she rifled through the cabinets for something edible.

"Where are we?" Hermione gazed around at her surroundings, taking in the wooden walls and the dark floors draped with overlapping rugs. Scooting closer to the burning fire, she tugged the blanket around her tighter, watching the fire crackle with drooping eyes.

"Somewhere safe." Pulling forward cans and pushing them away, Jean tiptoed to reach the higher shelves, her hand seeking out anything that may be hidden. Aha! Pulling down a still sealed small bag of rice, Jean smiled briefly as she thought about the month where all her and husband did was experiment with eastern dishes that needed rice. _Ah… we were such bad cooks_. A little bit of extra searching turned up an almost empty bottle of soy sauce. _So rice and soy sauce. So basic._ Putting a pot of water on the camping stove she found in one of the bottom cabinets, Jean proceeded to make a small dinner for them, focusing on the task at hand as to distract her from her worries and fears.

"Is daddy coming?" Stretching, Hermione stood up unsteadily, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she padded over to a worn and well used couch a bits away from the fireplace. Climbing on, she laid her head down on the armrest and wrapped the blanket tighter against herself, breathing in deeply and exhaling at the thought of seeing her daddy again. By the time she had gotten comfortable, she was hardly awake enough to hear her mother's answer.

"No, Daddy has to do something important still." Watching Hermione go lights out, Jean waited a safe amount of time before letting out heart wrenching sobs, barely keeping quiet enough not to wake Hermione from desperately needed sleep.

* * *

The memory swirled away in a mess of muted colors before opening up on a bright warm day. Narcissa and Lucius steadied themselves and took in their surroundings, taking note that they were still in the cabin and it seemed warmer than before. Must be spring. Hermione was sitting on the floor of the main living place, playing with the worn dragon. Jean was seated on a bar stool near the kitchen while looking out the window, her gaze glazed over as though she was losing herself in a memory. A sharp banging on the front wooden door shocked her out of her trip down memory lane and had her scrambling to brace herself against the door in seconds.

"Hermione! Go hide!" Hermione clutched onto her dragon tightly before making a beeline to the bedroom door, shutting it behind her and hiding in the closet. Shutting her eyes, she strained her ears to hear what was happening in the next room.

"I told you stay away from us! What do you want?!" Jean snarled at their decidedly unwelcome guest. With another bang on the door, Jean backed away, not wanting to get hit by the splinters flying off. With one last bang, the door fell into itself, breaking right down the middle. A figure stepped into the room, stomping his way across the now broken wooden door. A cruel smile adorned his handsome face. Antonin brushed off stray debris off his shoulder, taking in the wooden cabin and chuckling at the memories to come.

"Silly Jean, isn't it obvious? Your death. I already took care of that weak man you called a Husband. Very pleasing screams." Thumping his way towards her, he took delight in every step she took back, licking his lips in the palpable fear lingering in the air. Things were always fun when he was hunting. The tracking is the tedious part, but cornering his prey? Simply delicious.

"YOU MONSTER!" Jean screamed, taking out a pocket knife she always carried on her for years in case he had ever come again. Lunging at him with swift swings, she hoped with all her heart that Hermione stayed wherever she had hid. Antonin chuckled with each swing that he easily stepped out of the way of. Letting her get a few more in, he drew his wand and disarmed her, watching as her eyes widened in horror.

"I'm afraid knives won't work on me, dear" Winking at her, he grinned with pleasure as she backed away again, circling the couch to keep distance between them. "Don't be like that doll… Just come here. I'm afraid your fate was sealed when you and Richard had picked me up on the side of the mountain road all those years ago. Remember that? Could've been mine." Pouting theatrically, he winked at her again before lunging towards her, intending to have his fun with her.

"DIE!" Scrambling out of the way, Jean ran over to the fireplace, picking up the discarded knife and bracing herself again. Taking another swing at him, she lost her footing and fell face first into the floor, the knife sprawling out of her grasp.

Antonin stepped over her before straddling her back, relishing in the warmth of her body. Steadying his breathing, he pulled her arms behind her and secured it with some magical rope.

Leaning down to her ear, he whispered hotly against the shell of her ear, "Where's the girl?"

"I'll never tell you!" Wiggling and turning her head away, Jean attempted to move him off her, to no avail. He was simply too strong. Rolling her over to her back, Antonin smacked her in the face, taking delight in her moan of pain, thinking of other sounds he could have her make. Hitting her again, he grabbed onto her hair and pulled it, tugging her head off the ground; she screamed from the pain on her sensitive scalp, momentarily forgetting about Hermione.

"See what happens when you don't listen? Hurts don't it" Growling angrily, Antonin leaned down and bit her shoulder roughly, sinking in his teeth, hoping to draw blood. Pulling back to admire his handiwork, he smirked at the sight that welcomed him. _Good. Maybe I can show this bitch what she was missing out on by choosing Richard._

"Momma!" A scream broke him out of his thoughts. Looking over to his left, he spotted a little girl running towards them, tears streaming down her little face; a perfect little replica of Jean. Grinning in anticipation, Antonin made sure Jean was bound completely before standing up and making his way to the little girl. Hermione stopped in her tracks when she saw the scary man stand up.

"Hermione! Go! Run!" Jean yelled at her daughter, pleading with her to just go. Thrashing around on the floor so she could get up, Jean watched helplessly as Antonin continued to make his way towards her little girl. Stepping back, Hermione braced herself against the wall shaking, tears streaming down her face, clutching onto her stuffed dragon.

"Momma, No!" Shaking her head, Hermione attempted to run over to her mother, stopping in her tracks as Antonin advanced on her.

"RUN NOW!" Pushing her way to Antonin, Jean bit onto his leg, using her own body for a brace against him. Hermione took the chance to run towards the front door, analyzing any routes she could take to get to her mother and help her.

"SHUT UP!" Turning around, Antonin kicked her off him before kicking her in the stomach multiple times, chuckling at her groans of pain. Hermione whimpered in fright and worry for her mother, wondering why this was happening to them. With one last kick, Antonin drew his wand and spat out a cutting curse, slicing open Jean's neck, spurting blood everywhere. Jean forced herself to meet Hermione's eyes, taking in a deep breath before whispering out her last words.

"Mommy loves you." And with that, Jean had lost her life trying to protect her daughter. Hermione let out a shrill shriek, sobs racking her body as her young mind realized her mother didn't exist anymore. Antonin grinned at the sound, taking in Jean's ragged and bloody body before turning his sights back onto her daughter.

Kicking Jean's body one more time, Antonin made his way to Hermione, tucking his wand back into his pocket. "Come here, little one." Hermione blinked up at him, clutching onto her bear tightly.

"NO! GO AWAY!" Screaming, Hermione ran out the front door barefooted, her little dress covered in her mother's blood.

"I SAID COME HERE" Roared Antonin, stomping out the door after her. He caught up with her in no time, swooping her up into his arms. Hermione kicked and screamed, before latching onto his arm, biting it as hard as she could. "Damn you little brat." Grunting in pain, Antonin slapped her in the face; A red hand print rapidly started appearing on her cheek. The hit stunned her momentarily, shocking her - Her parents _never_ hit her before. Hermione started sobbing harder, her body slumped in defeat. "Shut up you brat!" Growling out in frustration, Antonin brandished his wand again, casting a silencing spell on Hermione before turning towards the cabin and spitting out _fiendfyre_ , watching as it engulfed the wood cabin in mere seconds. Smoke rose into the air accompanying the smell of burning human flesh.

* * *

The elder Malfoys witnessed the memory swirl away like water down a drain before taking a shuddering breath. Blinking their eyes to get re adjusted to the low study's lighting, Lucius looked over to his beloved wife where silent tears were streaming down her face. Casting a quick silencing charm, he took her into his arms and held her tight as she sobbed her heart out for what Hermione had gone through. His own heart broke for the little muggle-born. He may not have liked them, but no one should have to go through what the little girl did.

Wiping stray tears off her cheeks, he kissed her forehead softly before glancing over at the children's; eyes softening when he noticed they had fallen asleep and were curled up with one another on the couch. Looking back at his wife, he kissed her softly, trying to convey how much he loved her in a single action. Pulling away, he looked into her eyes, trying to form words of comfort.

"Mudblood." slipped out instead.

Instantly a sharp stinging sensation hit his cheek, shocking him. Wide eyes met narrowed ones. Narcissa glared at him, her lips turned up in a scowl. Rubbing her hand softly to take away the sting, she stepped back away from her husband.

"Don't you dare mutter that word again, Lucius. She is ours now and we protect our own." Sneering at him, she wiped away the rest of her tears before charming away the redness from her cheeks. "You've seen what that little girl has been through. What she's witnessed. I won't have you ruining this new life for her either with that nonsense about blood purity. _Sanctimonia Vincet Semper._ Purity will always Conquer. Your purity may consist of blood, but _mine_ is made for family."

"Cissa…"

"Don't 'Cissa' me. I don't want to hear that slur coming out of your mouth, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy." Turning her heel, Narcissa strode over to the children and conjured a blanket, tucking it over them. Looking at the grandfather clock sitting against a wall, she noted that it seemed to be only 2 pm. They must've had a lot of fun to be tired out so early, she thought.

Lucius strode over to them, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and settling his chin on her shoulder, watching the children with her. "Cissa, I'm sorry. It slipped out." Kissing her shoulder gently, he turned her to face him, pressing their foreheads together. Meeting her gaze, he kissed her chastely, holding her tight. "I swear to you I won't utter that word ever again."

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing him on the cheek. "Okay. She's ours now, Lucius. Understand?" He nodded and kissed her again. "Are you ready for the next one?" she murmured against his lips, bracing herself for the next memory. Her heart hurt for Hermione and she was glad that Antonin was dead. They held hands and made their way back over to his desk, steadying their breathing to settle their nerves. Lucius uncorked the next vial and transferred it over to the pensieve. Soon, they were immersed in another time.

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 **A/N : WOO! This chapter was so much easier to write. Poor Hermione having to witness it all… Thank you guys for the continued support and here it is! An early chapter as a thank you for reading and reviewing! So please hit that button down there and leave a word or two :D As always, feel free to hit me with plot questions and so forth my Tumblr : Kissstarrydreams**


	7. Chapter 7 - Memory two

**A/N : I'm so sorry everyone for the last chapter if it's made you uncomfortable or brought up bad memories. I should've included a trigger warning :/ SO, here it is : Triggers of (sexual) child abuse, some verbally abusive comments and a floodgate of tears. Nevertheless, I'm loving the positive reaction about this story I'm getting from you guys. It's nice to know you guys are enjoying my work! Also, to answer questions, Hermione is 5 years old right now. And yes, we will see the kids grow up and we'll go through challenges they'll arise in the future, together. Please be patient as I'm still setting up the world. Again, please enjoy and review! I'm so stoked i have 100 followers on this story now! *squeals!***

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 **Chapter 7**

Blinking her eyes open, Hermione took in her surroundings, noting that it was dark and damp and it looked like she was in a metal cage in someone's basement. Sitting up, she curled in on herself immediately, the gnawing hunger pains indicating that she has been out for awhile and likely haven't been fed. Whimpering softly, she breathed in deeply, trying to quell the hunger pains just for a moment. Sitting up, Hermione shivered as a gust of wind came through a lone barred windows near the ceiling, set into a stone wall to her left; to her right was just piles of decrepit boxes and various rubbish. Shaking the bars on the cage, Hermione attempted to open the gate to be met with the sad realization that there was no lock, but it wouldn't budge. As soon as she made the first sound, she picked up heavy footsteps coming her way, before a wooden door swung open with a loud creak.

Antonin stepped through the doorway, a smirk upon his face as he breezed to her as if he wasn't holding her in a dirty cage. Hermione whimpered and backed into the corner, trying as hard as she could to get away from him. The memory of her mother's body was still fresh in her mind and this bad man had done it.

"Please, let me go…" she begged him, tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. Sniffling loudly, Hermione wiped at her face with her dirtied sleeves, unknowingly smudging dirt all over her face.

Antonin smiled broadly before crouching down in front of her. "Let you go? No, no pet. We're just getting to know each other." He said as he reached his hand through the bars, tugging on a stray strand of her hair roughly, smiling even more when she flinched.

* * *

The memory gave way to something darker that both Malfoys had a sick gut feeling about. Colors swirled and twirled around them before settling on one image that they'll never forget.

Hermione was strapped to the wall, her body limp. On her back, she bared to the world angry red marks criss crossing over old scars and fresh new scars decorating her back.

Narcissa gasped out in shock, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stepped forward, momentarily forgetting that she couldn't help. Lucius grabbed her and pulled her back into his embrace, shouldering her head against his chest and rubbing her back as she sobbed her heart out. He stared at the wall besides Hermione, silently thanking Merlin that Antonin was dead. Both of them were grateful that not all memories lasted when the colors swirled away again, giving way to the trauma that Hermione had faced in her short life.

* * *

Another scene flashed in front of them, the sound of Hermione screaming hitting them first before the sight of Antonin cutting into her skin deeply, grinning in pleasure at each sound she made; Blood dripping down from the blade Antonin was using to cut into her skin. Hermione braced herself for the next cut, knowing the torture wouldn't stop until she screamed she was a "filthy little muggle". Biting her lip, she held back her scream as he dug his knife into her back again, dragging it slowly across an inch so she could feel every agonizing moment that he was hurting her. If she screamed what he wanted to hear, she knew he would drop the knife before touching himself. She always hated it whenever he made her scream. It sickened her.

All she wanted was the days when she still had her mom and dad. But all she remembered was her daddy bursting through the front door and yelling for them to run before he got there. Her mom and dad had glanced at each other before looking at her. She remembered her mom running to her room and throwing things into a bag before packing her own things. She remembered her papa buckling her into the truck that grandpa had left them. The last she saw of her dear papa was when he and her mum kissed and held each other, as if savoring their last moment together. What she had witnessed has proven that.

Her distraction lowered her defenses, causing her to scream out louder in pain as he dug in the knife more forcefully, irritated that his victim had lost interest in his play time. One more dig and she finally screamed out what he wanted, hating herself as she heard the clang of metal as the knife hit the cellar floor, echoing off the walls. Hermione closed her eyes and let the tears fall as she heard him unzip his trousers, low grunting sounds reaching her ears in moments. She tried her hardest to block out these moments, but the words he would utter just terrified her enough to stay present.

She remembered the first and only time she had passed out and had not paid attention to him… He had grabbed that wooden thing and waved it at her, waking her up before forcing her eyes open to watch him. She flinched as she heard him groaning as he finished. Hopefully this time he would remember to at least allow her to cover herself back up before shoving her back into the cage.

She gasped out in pain as he suddenly allowed her to drop to the dirty cellar ground, curling up on herself immediately. He chuckled as he caught his breath. Waving his stupid stick, Antonin summoned her clothing and waved his stick again, dropping his captive and her belongings into the cage before locking it and throwing a blanket over the top to keep out some of the breeze. He learned his lesson about basic care for prisoners when he found her on the cusp of death due to hypothermia when he forgotten about a blanket. It took weeks before he was able to play with her again.

Little one can't escape him that easily.

The memory burned out of Narcissa's and Lucius' view as they felt Hermione's inner fire fade away as she curled in on herself and cried herself to sleep, gasping out in pain whenever a bit of debris hit her scarred and bleeding back.

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 **A/N : I'm sorry guys for the delay on this chapter, but it just wouldn't cooperate. It was supposed to be longer, bu** **t -shrugs- this was all it wanted to give me. Again, sorry for the roughness. I had a beta offer but I'm not sure how to go about and so on. So if you have any info on that, let me know. Thanks guys for going through this journey with me :) please review! Also! Check out Cauldron's Brew! New short fic!**


	8. Chapter 8 - Memory three

**A/N : Sorry for the crappy last chapter guys. This part was supposed to be in it, but it just didn't feel right to me. As always, PM me questions/errors, review and enjoy!**

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 **Review replies :**

 **KC : I know children at that age are able to speak clearly, but I wanted to show that he was so distraught that he lost his language, per say. Also, Hermione is a tough name and really unheard of as shown in Canon. There are actual posts of it online as to how people are wondering how it's pronounced. Also, I do hold conversations with my nieces to get a real feel on how children speak whenever I write a chapter.**

 **To everyone : I pick the POVs to show a deeper side to the memory. I know it's not how it's normally supposed to work, but it helps progress this story and those characters along. I will also explore why I'm keeping hermione muggleborn in the school chapters.**

 **HermioneGrangerTheDragonTamer & Chester99 : Hopefully this chapter answers your question.**

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 **Also : Trigger warnings : Abuse, Sexual abuse, violence and so forth. Read with caution!**

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Chapter 8

Peeling her eyes open, Hermione shivered as a breeze swept through the room, bringing in the scent of rain and the unpleasant freezing temperature. Curling in on herself, she wrapped herself in the blanket her captor used to cover up her cage. It was her only comfort in the cruel twist that fate had decided she was to burden. Sitting up, Hermione looked up at the window, hoping to be able to see if it was daytime or nighttime; She preferred the day because Antonin preferred to come down at night. To her dismay, the weather was so bad that she had no way to see the whether it was day or night

Gazing out of her cage, Hermione stared at the pile of logs in a corner longingly, thinking back to cold winter nights where her mum and papa had lit a fire in the fireplace for them to enjoy. The memory so vivid and pure she could almost taste the homemade hot cocoa her mum used to make. Sighing sadly, Hermione was about to turn back over and curl up to sleep when a spark caught her attention. Squinting into the logs, she tried to find it again. There! Another spark leaped up out of nowhere. She sat up and scooted closer to the edge of her cage, hoping to figure out what was making the logs spark so randomly. Sadly, the spark didn't show up again.

Huffing in frustration, Hermione just wished that it would show up again, to satisfy her curiosity and keep her entertained while her captor was away. Growling in frustration when after a couple minutes, it never showed up again, Hermione slammed her fists down onto the cage's floor, igniting her hands in dancing flames that didn't seem to hurt her. Yelping out in shock, Hermione waved her hands rapidly, panicking as the flames licked across her finger tips.

"STOP!" and as sudden as they had come, they had gone. Hermione stared at her hands curiously and fearfully, wondering if the spark would come back again. A gust of wind blew through the room, causing her to goosebump and shiver.

"So… cold…" Bundling up in her raggedly blanket, Hermione curled up on the floor of her cage, looking around the room and memorizing it, for if she ever escaped, she could tell them exactly what happened.

* * *

"Oh pet..."

Blinking her eyes open sleepily, Hermione took in her blurry surroundings until it focused on her captor's face a few inches away from her cage. Sucking in a sudden breath, she squeaked and skidded back to the end of her cage, curling up as far away from him as possible.

"I have some guests for you to meet" Antonin grinned at her as he smelled her fear radiating out from her. It always excited him when she was _so_ responsive. Gesturing to his guests, Hermione's eyes darted back and forth between Antonin and his "guests", not trusting him to attempt to touch her when she wasn't looking. "This is Nott, and his little Nott."

Nott Sr. was an older man, Standing somewhat at 6 tall, he had pale skin, dark brown eyes and brown hair swept back, a stray strand of hair adorning his forehead, giving him a distinguished look. Little Nott seemed to be the spitting image of his father, except for his eyes and his hair color. His eyes were a bright blue that Hermione adored using when she colored with her mum and papa. Her mama called it robin's egg, but Hermione thought it looked more like the blue sky on a bright sunny day. But his eyes were different from a sunny day; they seemed more sad than anything. Like he wanted to cry at any moment. His hair though… spoke of darker nights where the scary monsters in her old story books longed to be.

"Antonin, what is this?" Nott Sr. demanded, looking down at Hermione with distaste. His comment broke her focus as she was watching his son. She took in his expression and scowled at him, clearly not impressed with his manners.

"Just a filthy little muggle I play with. Want to join?" Antonin smiled down at Hermione fondly, reaching his hand through the bar to stroke the hair on her head, chuckling softly as she whimpered in fright. Tugging on one of her matted curls, he took in her expression, licking his lips as he thought about the playtime he was planning for tonight. Nott Sr. rolled his eyes and crouched down, taking in the little muggle girl, wondering what made her so special that allowed her to live this long. Taking a chance, Hermione spit at him, mouth set in a scowl as she remembered why she was in the bloody cage in the first place. Any friends of her captor's, she knew couldn't be trusted.

Nott Sr. calmly wiped his face off with a handkerchief he pulled out of his trousers, before tossing it into the cage. Smirking down at her, he muttered "Filthy Muggle." Under his breath before standing up and facing his long time friend. "Antonin… Theo is much too young." Clasping a hand on his son's shoulder, he pulled him close to his side, out of the girl's reach. Looking down, he ruffled his son's hair, remembering painfully that he had to inherit the physical attributes of his late darling wife.

Standing up, Antonin sighed exasperatedly, a sign of a repeat conversation they must've had a dozen times. "Bloody hell, Nott. You have to let the lad grow up sometime. Get his feet wet a little."

Shaking his head, Nott Sr only rolled his eyes again, letting out a sigh. "He's only 5, Antonin. Theo, go upstairs." he ordered, steering his son towards the cellar door.

"Father?" Taking his eyes off the girl, Theo looked up at his father, confusion in his eyes.

"Go now, Theo. We'll be back up later." Theo nodded before walking towards the stairs, glancing back at the muggle girl once before disappearing up the stairway.

"Suit yourself, Nott. Can't blame me if he grows up soft like his mother." Antonin sneered before finding himself punched in the face, and sprawled out on the cellar floor. Nott Sr. was standing above him and wiping blood off his fist with another one of his damn handkerchief. Chuckling at how easy it was to get a reaction out of his friend, Antonin sat up and rubbed at his jaw, wincing as he made a pass to his nose. Taking out his wand, he muttered a quick _Episkey_ before putting his wand back in his pocket. Chuckling again, Antonin wiped away the remaining blood and glanced over at Hermione's curious stare.

"Shut up you bloody bastard." Nott Sr spat, controlling his breathing, careful not to give into another one of his violent bursts of anger. It wouldn't do well to kill a fellow Death Eater over a passive comment. The Dark Lord wouldn't approve when or _if_ he came back.

"Touchy still are we?"

"I'm leaving. Enjoy your games, Antonin. Don't let it blow up on you, though." Taking one last look at the muggle girl, Nott Sr. turned his back to the still laughing Antonin, before heading up the stairway, intent to never join the man's "games."

* * *

Looking over at Hermione, Antonin grinned widely, "Well pet, it looks like I'll be getting all the fun tonight." Hermione whimpered, breathing becoming uneven as she prepared herself for another rough night with him. Wishing, not the first time, that she could be anywhere but here.

"Shhh… You'll enjoy this one the most." Reaching through the bars, Antonin stroked her cheek softly, fingers aching to touch the tears gathering in her eyes.

* * *

"STOP!" Scratching at his face, Hermione struggled to get away from him and his hands trying to touch her naked body. Screaming, Hermione kicked and scratched, a hit landing on his cheek.

"AGH! YOU FUCKING BITCH. GET BACK HERE" Gripping her tighter, He pushed her against the floor, Caging her in with his arms as his knee parted her legs.

"Like that? Huh?! Take that like your mother should've."

"NO! PLEASE STOP! STOP!" Sobbing, Hermione gripped his arms, trying to push them out from under him so she could roll away.

"Fuck yeah, so nice seeing you cry." She could feel hands creeping up her bare thighs, getting closer and closer to her private parts.

"I SAID STOP IT!" Hermione screwed her eyes shut, gripping her hands on his arms, she thought of fire. Flames burst from her hands and tore at Antonin's sleeves, causing him to scream in pain and let go of her. Stumbling back, Antonin fell and hit his head on the cage's metal frame, knocking him out.

* * *

The house was lit in an array of oranges and reds as she ran down the road, away from the horror of his abuse. _Run run run, don't stop._

"COME BACK HERE YOU BITCH." A bright light hit her arm, cutting into her skin and leaving a deep gash, pumping out blood.

She kept running.

* * *

Knocking on a house door, Hermione fought to stay conscious as blood seeped out of her arm, dripping down her fingers. The door opened and revealed an elderly woman, clad in only a night dress.

"H-help. Please help…" Hermione pleaded as her breathing grew shallower, vision losing focus as she lost more blood.

"Oh my lord, she's been hurt! Quick! Jamie! Call the cops! Call 911!" The women yelled to someone inside the house, as she quickly pulled the little girl into her arms, laying her down in the front foyer to see the full extent of her injuries. A man rushed over, a phone pressed to his ear as he looked down at the beaten child in his home. Handing over all the information they need, the man crouched down, phone still on the line as they waited for the telltale sound of ambulances heading their way, the night air crisp with the stinging smell of the changing leaves.

"Hang in there! The cops are on their way. You're going to be alright, little one." Hermione stared up at the ceiling as she felt a hand brushing her forehead comfortingly, like her mom used to do for her before her doctor appointments. The world glared with bright blues and reds before fading out to black.

* * *

Pain. Sharp sting. Tired.

"Extensive injuries… Abuse… Malnutrition…" Sirens filled the void.

Sleep.

"Foster?" Voices prattled on.

Pain. Sleep.

"System… Health safety... Expensive…" An argument.

"Finances… children… social worker."

Sleep.

"We need to broadcast this. She might've been kidnapped."

No.

* * *

"Get her! Come back!" Nurses pointed after the running girl, clad in only a hospital gown. Security raced by the nurse, struggling to catch up to the panicked little girl.

Hermione looked back as she neared the door, breathing heavily as the thought of her captor somehow finding her here again. In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

* * *

Hermione drifted up the walkway, hands cupped together as the fire burned in the palm of her hands, lighting the way and keeping her as warm as a flame could. Knocking on the door, Hermione blew out a breath before smiling brightly, bringing cheer to her face to try and get them to let her stay.

"Please, may I stay the night?"

Slam!

* * *

"Please, may I stay the night?" Smiling politely, Hermione watched as the elderly couple fought with themselves before nodding reluctantly.

"Oh dear, Come in!" Waving her inside, they held their breath as she walked by them, the stench of piss and who knows what else wafting inside with her. "The washroom is right through there, honey." Ushering her inside, they showed her how everything worked before leaving her to her own devices. That night, Hermione slept in a warm bed, smelling of fragrant soaps, wearing clothes she had borrowed.

The next day, Hermione creeped down the hallway, towards the living room as she didn't know what to do. Hearing voices, hermione snuck around the corner and listened, eavesdropping on their conversation in case they were chatting about her.

"She looked like a runaway. Should we call the cops?"

"We probably should. Where's the phone?"

The front door slammed close as Hermione ran out of the house into the bright daylight.

* * *

"Please may I stay the night?"

"Get off my property, you beggar." And she was gone.

* * *

"Please, may I stay the night?"

* * *

Pulling themselves out of the memory, They both stared at the pensieve for a moment before making eye contact with each other, conveying their emotions through their eyes.

"Lucius…" Stumbling over to him, Narcissa fell into his open arms, sobbing against his chest.

Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her head, rubbing her back soothingly while lookinf over at the sleeping children curled up together in front of the burning fire in the fireplace.. The grandfather clock indicated it was well past midnight, shocking him that the memories had taken so long to view. "Sh, my dear… She's safe now." Leading her to the overstuffed chair across from the children, he sat down and pulled her onto his lap, holding her tightly against him as she let it all out.

"But Nott…" Sniffling now, Narcissa looked over at the children's sleeping forms, eyes softening as she took in their innocent faces.

"I know." Lucius said grimly, cutting her off before she worried herself to death.

"We need to say or do something, Lucius. We can't let her near him-"

"I'll floo over to him tomorrow." Kissing her cheek gently, he rubbed her back softly.

"Oh my dear little Hermione… Lucius, what are we going to do?" Hiding her face into his neck, Narcissa held onto her husband tightly, afraid of if he ever let go. The memories brought her back to the time where she was still a teen and living with her parents. She remembered how thankful she was to Lucius as he sat in her family's sitting room, pledging his magic to marry her. Her wedding day was the most amazing day she's had because she knew, as soon as her magic bonded with his, that he was saving her from a life of abuse. Pureblood upbringing were harsh, and full of lessons intended to break and mold the children to their father's pride and their mother's love. When Andromeda left to marry that muggle-born, Narcissa took that as her warning to never be anything less than perfect.

Furrowing his brow, Lucius looked at his wife worriedly, wondering if the stress of experiencing the memories had snapped something inside her, reminding her of how she was raised. "We'll adopt her." He said incredulously, reminding her of their earlier statements and all those filed paperwork.

Raising her brow at her husband, Narcissa patted his cheek, smiling indulgently as his blunder. "Of course we will. But I was referring to her memories, darling." Kissing him on the cheek, she stood up and walked around the coffee table before crouching down in front of the slumbering children. Pushing Hermione's hair out of her face, she kissed her forehead, then turned to Draco to do the same. Draco stirred a bit before snuggling closer to Hermione, one hand reaching out and laying it on hers. Sighing happily, Draco fell back into his deep sleep.

Coming up behind his wife, he rested his hands on her shoulders, before bending down and whispering in her ear, "Obliviate?"

"It's our only choice. Do you wish for her to relive those memories? She'll grow up broken and frightened. We can't sever ties with the Notts, as much as her experiences make me want to, but it just isn't done for the Sacred Twenty Eight."

"When?" Sitting down on the floor besides her, Lucius sat her in between his legs, twirling a strand of hair through his fingers as she watched the children sleep, like a mother bear protecting her cubs.

"Now." Closing her eyes, she leaned back against her husband, not being able to bare witness to the act.

"Yes Dear." Kissing her shoulder, Lucius branded his wand and " _Obliviate_."

* * *

 **A/N : Sorry about the long wait, but there were just parts of this chapter that was too tough to write, and it just took a toll on me. This is the last memory though, so it's almost time to see the kids grow up and meet more people. Please remember that every detail is there for a reason, and I will explain that reason as time goes on. Can't give you guys all the answers now, can I? ;) anyways, please read and review! Let me know how I'm doing!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N : I'm so sorry guys, but i've just been so swamped with work and I'm in the middle of moving, so it will be awhile before i can hop back on to work on my fanfic stories. So please be patient and thank you guys again for your support! Love love loving those reviews! But there are some things I would like to clear up from the last chapter**

 **Everyone : Yes this is OOC but, we've never met them pre-hogwarts.**

 **Guest #1 : Lucius obliviated Hermione and removed the memories we viewed.**

 **Nokomis : I include trigger warnings because there are people out there that have endured child abuse and child sexual abuse. So -FUCKING- excuse me for wanting to save people from TRAUMA.**

 **Chester99 : It will be adoption in protection only; there will be no blood allegiance change or "she's my sister" thing. Think of it as Fostering.**

 **SOOOOOO ONWARDSSSS! Read and Review guys! I hope you enjoy this!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

It was a quiet knock that woke her up from the pleasant dreams of a woman holding her close to her bosom, singing rhyme as they rocked to and fro.

Hermione blinked her eyes open as she took in the moonlight filtering through her window curtains, spilling across the floor and touching upon her bed, caressing the pale blanket kicked and trampled to the foot of the bed. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Hermione sat up and brushed her hair out of her face, eyes still thick with sleep. Climbing out of bed, she padded over the door, pulling it open to the shocked face of her new friend Draco, his hand raised mid-knock.

"Draco?"

Draco blushed before holding out his stuffed otter he had tucked under his arm, "I thought you would want this," he said before pressing it into her arms. Running his hand through his already messed up hair, he kicked the floor before looking at her again.

"I- I just thought you would be having issues sleeping since you have your memories back."

"For some reason, I can't remember big chunks of it. I just remember two people, I think. My mum and papa. I'm tired though…" Yawning, Hermione rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily, thinking about the warmth and comfort awaiting her.

Draco blushed sheepishly, realizing just how late it was in the night to be having this kind of conversation. "Oh, yeah. I'm sorry I woke you up. Goodnight."

"Night."

Hermione crawled back in bed with the stuffed otter Draco had given her. No sooner did she lay her head upon her pillow did she find herself wide awake while it was still dark out. The clock in the corner indicated it was 4 am, and she had enough of tossing and turning, trying to find sleep, before she huffed in annoyance and slid out of bed. Padding to her door, she opened it slowly and peeked out, making sure there was no one around.

Stepping out, she closed the door behind her before making her way down the hallway and around the corner to where she knew Draco's room was. Knocking lightly she waited for a moment, holding her breath. No answer. Looking around nervously, Hermione turned his door handle slowly, as to not make too much noise, but enough noise to warn him if he was awake. Stepping into the dark room, with moonlight filtering through the slits of the heavy drapes adorning his windows, she stepped towards his bed where a tuft of silver poked out of his blankets, shining brightly in the moonlight's embrace.

Nudging him gently, she watched as he curled up further in his blanket. "Draco…?" she asked before nudging him again. This time he poked his head out and looked at her, eyes half lidded down with sleep.

"Mmm"

"Draco… I can't sleep." Biting her lip, she clutched onto the Otter tighter, glancing around the very darkened room.

"Mmm…"

"Can I sleep in here with you?"

"Mmmhmmm…" He scooted a bit before raising his blanket up invitingly, shivering slightly at the colder air pressing against in as it invaded the offered space.

"Thank you…" Climbing in, Hermione tucked the otter between them before laying down on her side, facing him, the blanket draped over her shoulder heavily. Sleep had started slowing her breathing just before Draco reached over with one arm and wrapped it around her tightly, squishing the stuffed otter between them. They both fell back asleep with small smiles adorning their faces.

* * *

"Lucius."

"No." Groaning, Lucius rolled back over in bed, pulling the sheets tighter against him.

"Lucius, wake up my love" A nudge against his back.

"No."

"Lucius." He curled up tighter in the sheets, doing his best to block out his wife's voice. One more nudge and he finally rolled over, opening one eye to glare at his wife who had an amused smirk etched upon her face. "What is it that can't wait until later?"

"Nott."

"Nott can wait." He rolled back over, sighing heavily at the mere thought that he was going to lose this battle.

Pursing her lips, Narcissa poked her husband again, this time pressing her cold feet against his bare legs. "No. Talk to him now."

"Dear Merlin woman! what the bloody time is it right now?" Shuffling as far away from his wife and her bloody cold evil feet, he sat up, eyeing her warily lest she decide to try it again.

Casting a time spell instantaneously, She smiled sweetly at her husband, amused that he was fighting back so much. "6 am."

"Merlin, let me sleep," He groaned as he pulled the sheets back over his head, attempting to settle back down before sleep evaded him for the day. He always hated waking up because there was a 80% chance he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep.

"No, You need to get up and speak to Nott and bring him and his child over for breakfast at 8 am sharp." Ripping the sheets away from him, Narcissa quickly felt her amusement draining from her and annoyance taking its place. Pressing her cold feet against him again, she watched as he kicked and rolled away, evading her torture. "Now Lucius."

"Fine woman." Huffing, Lucius let out a breath of annoyance before reaching for his wand underneath his pillow and fixing his hair, making sure it gleamed in the morning sunlight that was filtering through the curtains.

"Love you, Lucius." Narcissa teased sweetly as he made his way out of their bedroom, grumbling about the cold and dawn and she was guessing anything that would be crossing his path.

* * *

"Morning Nott." Lucius greeted Nott Sr. as he padded into his study at 6 bloody am, waking up to the ward's sensors going off in his bedroom.

"Malfoy, what do I owe this pleasure at 6 bloody am to?" Walking over to his liquor cabinet, Nott poured himself a bit of his firewhiskey, enough to warm him up to bare through the cold morning until he was able to crawl back into his warm bed awaiting him upstairs.

Lucius swirled his firewhiskey in his cup, "My dear wife woke me up and forced me here. I've helped myself to your firewhiskey, of course," he said before taking a sip of the drink in question.

Sighing heavily, Nott closed his eyes and prayed to Merlin she wasn't going to ask for an impossible favor. "What message does your dear wife wish to be passed to me?" he asked, settling on playing cautious.

"Remember Antonin?"

"What about that fool?" Rolling his eyes at the memory he had of a clearly deranged Antonin, Nott took a sip of his drink, letting out a breath as the burn traveled through his throat.

"I've heard from a pretty little owl that you know about his pet." Nott opened his eyes.

"So what of her? The Little Muggle Girl?"

Lucius' fingers clenched around his glass, before relaxing. He schooled his features and evened out his tone, "The Little Muggle Girl is actually called Hermione and she is not a muggle."

Nott scoffed, "Hermione? What sort of name is that? Did her parents hate her enough to name her as the daughter of Helen of Troy?"

"They loved her dearly. Antonin killed them both. Not surprised about the _not a muggle_ part?"

"Yes well, I knew she had something working for her to be able to live with Antonin that long. How do you know she wasn't a muggle?"

"You knew he was torturing a magical child and you still left her with him?" Lucius demanded, draining the rest of his drink as he felt sleep attempt to make itself at home in his eyes.

"Alright, I admit that wasn't the brightest move, but Antonin wouldn't have believed me if I told him she was magical anyways."

"Narcissa and I pulled some of Hermione's memories and viewed them, so I will have to agree with you there." Lucius tipped his glass to Nott, silently indicating a refill.

Nott poured another glass of firewhiskey in their cups before settling across Lucius in one of the ridiculously soft chairs he had. "So what's this about your darling wife?"

"She wants to invite you over for breakfast at 8 am sharp. But… I need to know you'll treat Hermione with the respect a malfoy is due. We've adopted her and well, my wife is very fond of her. So is Draco."

" _Oh?_ "

"Yes _oh"_

"All right then, Malfoy. We'll be there for breakfast. Would you like me to see you to the floo? Or would you like to avoid your wife for a while?"

"I think I'd stay here. Let her think we've had an actual conversation about this."

"More firewhiskey?'

"Please."

"Cheers."

* * *

"Young Master Draco! Young Mistress Hermione! Yous be getting up now! Mistress Narcissa says yous need to be ready for breakfast, yes you do." Arthur, Draco's house elf, ripped away the blankets from the sleeping children, anxious to get them ready in time for Mistress' breakfast with guests.

"Arthurrrr." Draco whined, kicking his feet as he curled back up, clenching his eyes shut tighter as if he was escaping from a nightmare of waking up too early.

"Arthur?" A girlish voice yawned besides him, shocking him to sit upright. Draco stared down at a sleepy Hermione clutching onto his favorite stuffed otter, last night's dream turning into reality.

"Hermione?" The girl in questioned yawned again before opening her eyes slowly,

"Oh, morning Draco! Thank you for letting me sleep in here last night… I couldn't sleep after you left." She looked down, a blush creeping across her face as she thought about how weird that sounded.

"Oh uh, you're welcome. Did you sleep okay?" a faint blush painted his cheeks as he looked at anywhere but her.

"Yeah thanks!" she grinned brightly, holding onto the stuffed otter still.

"Young Master Draco! Come! Arthur must get you bathed and dressed! Yes Arthur must!"

"Young Mistress?" Another voice chimed in quietly to Hermione's right. Looking over, Hermione smiled brightly when she saw it was her house elf, "Oh good morning Jaime!"

"Morning mistress. We must be getting ready now!"

"Oh okay…" Climbing down from the bed, Hermione followed Jaime's lead to Draco's door, looking back at Arthur flicking clothes back and forth, trying to find something suitable for Draco to wear for a breakfast with guests.

"Hermione! I'll come and get you after I'm done?" Pausing mid-step, Hermione smiled at Draco softly before nodding her head, curls bouncing around her face with the action. Draco smiled faintly at seeing her rebellious curls flying everywhere without a care in the world.

"Okay!" And with that, Hermione walked out of the room, the door shutting behind her softly with a flick of magic.

* * *

Hermione stood outside her bedroom door, fiddling with the bow on the flouncy dress Jaime had wrapped her in, watching as it shimmered in the sunlight dancing across the hallway, as she waited for Draco. She never thought she'd be alive right now and with everything that has happened, she still thought this was all a dream. Draco rounded the corner in a set of black casual slacks and a button up shirt, his hair slicked back, as he strolled down the hall towards her.

"Ready?" He offered his arm out like he's seen his father do a million times for his mother whenever they went out to dinner or to go shopping in Diagon Alley.

"Yupp!" Looking down at his arm, confused, she tilted her head at him in a silent question. Draco rolled his eyes and gently grabbed her arm and positioned it through his, showing her how it was supposed to go. At least he thought so. After a moment of walking, they looked at each other and grinned widely before sprinting down the hall, laughing merrily. The portraits looked on, smiling fondly at the two children as they remembered their youth of innocence.

Stopping just in front of the Dining Room doors, the two children straightened up and fixed their clothing on each other, fixing the collar there, tightening the bow here and one last once over before assuming the proper escorting position - arm out, hand tucked in, and head up. Draco reached out and opened up the doors, revealing his parents already seated and chatting with Nott Sr., while Theo was sitting on the other end of the table, cutting his pancakes lazily.

Narcissa looked over at the children warmly as they entered, eyes lighting up when they rested on Hermione, glad that Jaime had taken her suggestion and outfitted her in Narcissa's favorite outfit.

"Good morning dears. You remember Lord Nott and his son, right Draco?"

"Yes mother. Please to see you again, Lord Nott and Theo." Draco nodded his head slighlty, acknowledging them.

"Hello Draco. Theo say hello."

"Hello Draco." Theo put on his best aristocrat voice and kept his face stoic, but both boys knew there was a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"And I would like to introduce you to our newest addition, her name is Hermione."

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, Lord Nott and Theo." She said as she curtsied low, much like Jaime had taught her just half an hour ago as she was dressing Hermione for the day.

"Hello Hermione" Nott tipped his head slightly, acknowledging her.

"Fath-" Theo tried chiming in, his eyes narrowed in on the girl, recognition blooming on his face.

"Theo, say hello to Hermione. She's new here." Recognizing an order, Theo swallowed his words and nodded.

"Yes Father. Hello Hermione. It is nice to meet you too."

"Now that introductions are out of the way, come eat children," Waving the children over to the table, Narcissa sat back in her chair, taking a sip of her tea, watching how they would interact with each other.

"Yes Mother"

"Yes Narcissa."

Settling down in the transfigured bench chair that Lucius had made so the two children could sit together, Hermione and Draco passed plates back and forth as they piled on their breakfast. Taking a bite of his pancakes, Draco turned to Theo and swallowed his food before speaking, "Hey Theo, anything new?"

Eyes lighting up, Theo excitedly told Draco, "Yeah! Dad just bought me this new training Broom!" before both boys launched into stats and details about Brooms and Quidditch, all that sounded like foreign language to Hermione, who had in turned tuned them out and focused on the more serious talk the adults were having involving some ministry and regulations.

"I can't wait until we can ride real brooms at Hogwarts." At that, Hermione looked over to the boys and piped in a quick question which made Draco peer at his new friend in surprise.

"What's Hogwarts?"

"It's for purebloods and half-bloods. It's where children go to learn magic." Theo explained shortly, still fighting his words from earlier.

"What are Purebloods and Half-Bloods?"

"Purebloods are when you have two magical parents, while half bloods only have one. Purebloods are superior though, because we're meant to have magic. At least the Half bloods are better mudbloods." Draco sneered, as if reciting a passage from a long passed down book.

"What's wrong with Mudbloods?" Hermione demanded, sensing that this was a forbidden topic in this new society. And she had opinions.

"Everything. They steal our magic. Mudbloods are as bad as muggles because they have non-magical parents."

"Draco Lucius Malfoy." Narcissa cut in sharply, silencing the room.

* * *

 **WHOO! It felt perfect to cut it off here, but once again : thank you everyone for reading and don't forget to review! As always, the mistakes are mine.**


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